


The Gift (12 Drabbles of Christmas)

by arwrite



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27888427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arwrite/pseuds/arwrite
Summary: Remus and Sirius wait on a special gift and think back to what brought them together.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 18
Kudos: 22





	1. Drabble 1: Dreary (Past/Present)

**Author's Note:**

> I entered the December challenge in the Harry Potter Fanfiction Club.  
> The instructions were to write 12 drabbles with 12 different words inspiring them.  
> The words are used in the title.  
> The drabbles had to be 250 words or less.  
> I put the time frame in parentheses so it would be straight forward!
> 
> Teen and up because of mild language and a sex scene. (It is consensual)!

Remus awoke suddenly. _Where was he?_ The beeps of something connected to him startled him and he closed his eyes tight. He moved around on the scratchy sheets. Anguished sobs came through the thin floor and walls. His breath hitched as he moved his left leg and a shot of pain traveled to his brain. His eyes snapped open. 

The door creaked and he pretended to be asleep.

“You’re lucky that he isn’t dead.”

“What do I do?” His mother asked.

Remus squinted, his mother’s red-rimmed eyes glanced at him.

“You be honest with him. There are specialists who deal with this sort of thing. It's kinder to both you and your son, in the long run. He could check in here for a long term stay on the fourth floor.” The Healer turned his head and stepped away in fear.

Remus’s heart sped up. That’s where all the crazy people went, _he wasn’t crazy._

“That won’t be necessary, he’s coming home with me.”

***********

Lupin shook his head to clear the bad memory. The dreariness of the snow fell outside. The lights buzzed and resounded off the too white walls. The intercom crackled and a voice announced that visiting hours were over. He shivered, despite having on three sweaters. 


	2. Drabble 2: Blizzard (Present)

Sirius waited on Remus’s herbal tea and his black coffee. The gray, almost black circles under Remus's eyes made Sirius wonder if he switched out his usual herbal with something stronger if Remus would notice.

He tiptoed over to Remus and kissed him on the cheek; Remus jumped.

Sirius chuckled despite himself. “Good trance or bad trance, love?”

“Bad.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“It’s just that I have never been here under happy circumstances.” His mind was still clouded with the painful memory. 

Sirius nodded his head, there was a lot about Remus’s childhood that was still too painful for him to talk about. 

“When you're ready, you know I’m here.” Sirius kissed him again.

He sat down facing the big windows of the fifth floor of Saint Mungo’s. Remus followed suit.

“I am really okay. I can’t have caffeine anyway, the caffeine counters the Wolfsbane potion.” He sipped at his tea and relaxed into the hard, plastic chair. 

“I like coffee as black as my soul.”He sipped at his styrofoam cup.

Remus shook his head in amusement. 

“What do you think we’ll have?” Sirius asked after a moment.

“I don’t know, I just hope that we find out soon.” Remus grinned.

Whenever he was in a dark place, it was Sirius who reached in and pulled him out.

Remus held his hand out. Sirius grabbed it, kissed it, and rubbed his thumb over Remus’s knuckles. The snow outside turned to a blizzard.


	3. Drabble 3: Family (Past)

Sirius knocked on the door and opened it, humming under his breath. Teddy on his hip, babbling.

“Time to get up. Teddy and I were thinking about going to the park.” Sirius never pushed, but invited Remus to everything. 

Remus groaned, his body like a ton of anvils; he threw a pillow at him that missed him by a mile.

“Missed me, missed me, now you got to kiss me!” Teddy laughed as Sirius danced around the room.

Remus rolled his eyes as he held out his arms for Teddy; Teddy’s hair turned golden with flecks of gray in it. 

“You coming? You could throw a snowball at me.” Sirius wiggled his eyebrows.

Remus shrugged and layered on sweaters.

Sirius moved in with them to make sure that Teddy still had a father by the end of the year. 

That evening, they spoke over tea about the way that Teddy rolled around in the snow. Remus reached out and grabbed Sirius’s hand. Sirius looked down and kissed it. They stayed like that for a long time.

Sirius held his gaze. “You don’t have to feel guilty---it’s been two years. Tonks would want you to be happy.”

“How do you always know what I am thinking?”

“I know you.” Sirius wrapped his arms around him.

Remus planted a small kiss on Sirius’s lips. “I guess you do.” Remus smiled.


	4. Drabble 4: Tree (Past)

“Daddy, Papa, where are you?” They hid behind the Christmas tree in the square living room.

“Found you!”He said in his small voice. Sirius picked up Teddy and started to tickle him.

Over hot chocolate and cookies that evening, Sirius nodded at Teddy. This wasn’t out of the ordinary as they always had little inside jokes. 

“Papa wanted me to give this to you.” Remus took a box out of Teddy’s pudgy, little, four-year-old hands. 

Remus opened it, inside was a silver ring, engraved with a dog. 

“Moons, will you marry me?”

Remus nodded his head and kissed Sirius. Teddy clapped.

“Can I be the ring bearer?”

_ What had he done to deserve two loves in one lifetime? _

“Of course!” They leaned down and gave Teddy a sandwiched hug. 

When Teddy was in bed and Remus was wrapped up in Sirius, admiring his ring, Sirius cleared his throat. Remus glanced up at him with bashful eyes,the nervousness radiated off Sirius.

“You don’t have to look nervous, I already said yes.”

Sirius smirked. “I have another question for you.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It is.” He gulped. “I want to ask if I can adopt Teddy? I won’t be a replacement and I am all for keeping her memory alive, but,” he trailed off.

Remus teared up.

“I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“You didn’t! Quite the opposite, actually. Thank you for wanting both of us.”

The lights twinkled on the tree as they kissed.


	5. Drabble 5: Travel (Present)

Remus clutched Sirius’s hand and turned away from his son. Teddy slept under Remus’s heaviest sweater.

“What are you thinking about, Pads?”

“Just the first time I knew I was in love with you.”

Remus laughed. “When was that?”

“I came to Grimmauld Place for one of the Christmases. You had just told us you were a werewolf.”

Remus nodded. “I thought you would never want to talk to me again. Of course, you already knew.”

Sirius continued. “I came home and I overheard my mother...the bitch...talking about Fenrir in this awful way. ‘Why don’t they put it down?’ “It shouldn’t have a wand!’ She was telling all this to some friends over a book club.”

_ Would he be a good father? _

_ His mother was an awful parent, and that was putting it mildly. _

Sirius’s hands clenched and his nails dug into Remus’s. 

“I opened the door and swore at my mother in front of her hoity-toity friends.”

Remus smiled, imagining the loss of control in his husband. His fierce, protective husband.

“She beat me with the whipping spell everyday for that entire break.”

“I remember that.”

“How?”

“You crawled into bed with me for the first time. I rubbed your back. I remember because the lights in your eyes had gone out. It scared me.”

“I don’t want you to think that it was your fault, it was hers, the fucker.”


	6. Drabble 6: Ice (Past)

Even under four sweaters, he shook with cold sweats. He fidgeted with a loose string on one of his favorites. He tried to concentrate on his book, the same sentence ingrained into his mind.

He cleared his dry throat, his hands shaking. He pulled his hands into his sleeves so he appeared to have no arms. “Guys…?”

Sirius held out his arms like a zombie and grinned. “The living dead lives!” 

They all laughed--Sirius didn’t know how spot-on he was.

“I’ve got something to tell you...” Remus began.

James sat upright. “You’ve asked someone to the Summer Dance!” 

Sirius’s jaw dropped.

“No. I’m being serious.”

“Let him speak,” Sirius said.

“Well, I’ve got a problem. I’ve been meaning to tell you for a while. That is to say, I’m a...“

“Werewolf, yeah,” James said.

“I reckon he thinks we’re thick,” Sirius said, throwing a cushion at Remus’s head.

“Well that was boring,” Peter added.   
Remus’s mouth dropped open, his mind couldn’t keep up.

_ This is not how I thought this was going to go. _

Images of his friends walking out and spitting on him, blurred with reality.

“We’re working on becoming Animagi, We’re gonna come with as soon as we master it.” Sirius continued, leading the werewolf to the chair nearest the fireplace. The shaking stopped as he thawed surrounded by friends.

“You deserve to have more good days than bad.” Sirius touched his shoulder.

Remus’s ears buzzed, his tongue tied. He let the conversation move on.


	7. Drabble 7: Star (Past)

Sirius awoke from a terrible nightmare, his heart pounding. Sirius brushed Remus’s hair back as he inclined his head to the ceiling. The old clock downstairs chimed three.The moon danced off the walls of their bedroom.   
Remus stirred, snuggling closer to Sirius’s bare chest.. “You alright, love?”

“Fine, didn’t mean to wake you!” Sirius kissed his hair. 

“Wanna go look at the stars?” Remus mumbled.

“It’s freezing out there!”

“Hasn’t stopped us before.” Remus yawned, rubbing his eyes.

“You’re right, let’s go.”

“Don’t wake Teddy.”

Sirius chuckled and threw Remus his pants.

They curled up under a blanket and watched the star-filled sky turn to a dusty-auburn.

Remus summoned some tea from the kitchen.

They remained in silence as they both drank their tea.

"You know sometimes I think what would life be like if Tonks had lived and I died, how much better Teddy would have been. He needs her you know, more than a werewolf.”

Sirius slammed his mug down and shouted. “No, he wouldn’t.”

“Come off it. He’s going to be shunned the rest of his life.” Remus's voice rose and tears filled his eyes.

“I wouldn’t be better off.” Sirius’s heart ached when Remus talked this way about himself.

They were quiet for several moments.

“You know that I love you, right?” Sirius whispered into Remus’s ear.

“I know you love me every day.”

“Thanks for choosing me.”

“I would do it all over again.” Remus countered and snuggled closer.


	8. Drabble 8: Spice (Present/Past)

Remus ran his hands through his graying hair. He chuckled. 

“What? Do I have something in my teeth?” Sirius exclaimed.

“No, I was just thinking back to the time when you convinced me that this was a good idea.”

Sirius smirked, his eyes crinkled in the corners, the snow continued. 

***********   
Teddy was out of the house for the evening at Molly’s house, she was having what was called 'cousin's camp’ and invited all the grandchildren over for the evening to give their parents a break. This happened about once a month. “It keeps me young,” she said when Remus dropped off Teddy in a whirlwind of laughter from the other children.

Remus headed home, it was winter break and all he wanted to do was curl up with Sirius on the couch with a good book and some homemade cookies. 

Sirius worked on Muggle artifacts with Arthur in their own little shop that they opened after the war. He always had a good story to tell when he arrived home.

The house was filled with the aroma of orange and cinnamon when Sirius stepped into the house. 

Sirius’s eyes grew to the size of orbs when he realized that Remus wasn’t wearing anything besides his “Kiss the Cook!” apron and a smile that must have been earsplitting. 

“Wow, what did I do to deserve this?”

“Can’t I seduce my husband without a reason?”

“Of course. You smell like orange and cinnamon, that drives me absolutely horny.”


	9. Drabble 9: Gold (Past)

Sirius dropped his briefcase and undid his tie. “Are all the cookies out of the oven?”

“You have to wait another two minutes for the last batch.”

Sirius groaned. “You can’t agonize me like this.”

“I can and I will.” Remus smirked.

“What has gotten into you? Not that I am not into this new, adventurous husband of mine.” Sirius’s eyes roamed Remus’s body. 

“Teddy’s out of the house and I wanted tonight to be special.” Remus’s mouth upturned into a half-grin. Remus followed Sirius’s line of sight that was aimed at his erected groin. 

“Me too.” Sirius spoke, taking off his shirt and throwing it on a nearby chair.

He took Remus into his arms and the oven dinged. Remus flicked his wand; the oven opened and the cookie tray landed on the counter. 

He planted a kiss to Sirius’s lips, their tongues intertwining.

Sirius moaned with pleasure. “You ate one of the cookies.” 

“I thought you would like the taste of that!” Remus said, leading him to the nearby couch. 

Sirius laid down and Remus started to kiss down his chiseled chest. Remus unbuttoned Sirius’s pants and started to suck Sirius’s shaft.

Sirius looked up at the golden flecked ceiling that reminded him of Remus’s fading hair. His hands entangled themselves in it. 

Remus arched over him and kissed him hard.

“I love you.” Sirius patted, nipping Remus’s lip.

“I love you too, Paddy.”


	10. Drabble 10: Crackling (Past)

Sirius laid with Remus between his legs tracing scars on his shoulders. 

“I gave you that one.” Tracing a rather gnarly one that entangled itself with Remus’s veins, shoulder to shoulder. 

Remus hummed. “I probably deserved it.”

“That was an amazing surprise to come home to.” Sirius flicked his wand at the empty fireplace and abrupted a blaze of crackling orange and yellow flames.

“Why did you want this night to be special?” Remus asked.

“I could ask you the same question!”

“I wanted tonight to be special because you are special and we don’t get to do this very often. Now you!”

“Harry’s in trouble.” 

Remus’s mouth dropped open. “Why is that good news?”

“Harry got Ginny pregnant and you know that Harry and Ginny aren’t ready to take care of a baby when they are still picking up the pieces of what happened to them.”

Remus nodded slowly, scared of what was to come next.

“Harry came to the store today while I was on a break. He wanted to know if we had the means to take another kid. It would be fun!” Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus.

“Can I have some time to think about it?”

“Of course, love.” Sirius kissed the top of Remus’s head, they fell asleep on the couch feeling the warmth of the crackling fire.


	11. Drabble 11: Fleece (Past)

Remus handed Ginny tea: cross-legged under a red-checkered fleece blanket on the red frayed couch. She picked at her pinky nail, already showing a tiny bump. Harry’s arm protected her as Remus sat down next to Sirius across from them.

“We want to help you in any way we can. We want you to be a part of this child’s life, even though we will be their parents.” Sirius breathed.

Ginny made eye contact with them for the first time since slouching out of the fireplace. Harry hugged her tighter against him. “Thanks.” She whispered.

“We are not cleaning up your mess. You need to make sure you are taking care of yourself.” Remus stated. “Which I know you will.”

Ginny nodded her head.

“We mean you too, Harry. We know you have been squashing your feelings and that is not good for you, your marriage, or the hopes of having a future family. Ginny needs you to be strong, but you need to be strong for yourself too.” Sirius reached across the coffee table and squeezed Harry’s knee.

Harry nodded. 

The couples gave each other hugs. Harry stepped into the fireplace, followed by Ginny. A small smile on her face. 

Remus returned to the couch and dragged Sirius with him. Sirius laid his head on Remus’s lap and crawled under the still warm fleece blanket. 

“I’m excited Rem.” Sirius hummed as Remus’s hands were brushing through his hair.

“Me too.” Remus opened up a book.


	12. Drabble 12: Gift (Present)

Remus tapped on Teddy’s shoulder. “Bud, are you ready to meet your new baby sister or brother?”

Teddy rubbed his eyes. Remus wrapped his arms around him tighter as Teddy nuzzled his head against Remus’s neck. They followed the Healer.

Sirius stopped before going into the room. 

“You are going to be great, love. You already are.” Remus rubbed his back.

They beamed at each other. “Told you.” Sirius mocked, recovered from his moment of panic.

“I owe you dinner.” 

Ginny smiled through closed eyes as she held Harry’s hand. 

A coo rose from a bassinet beside Ginny’s bed. Sirius clasped his hands in front of his mouth, tearing up at the tininess of his daughter. Sirius cradled her and began to walk around the room. 

“Hello love. I’m your Papa and your Dad is right over there. Let’s look out the window.” He paced to the window, pointing at the snow that fell lightly. 

Remus hugged Harry and kissed Ginny. “This means more to us than you know.”

“Thank you for letting us be a part of her life.” Ginny whispered, laying back on the pillows.

“I can’t take it anymore, what’s her name?” Harry asked.

“Would you like to do the honors, Moons?”

“Her name is Enid, it means soul and purity. We can all use a bit more of that.”

“Best Christmas present ever!” Teddy exclaimed.

“It certainly is.” Remus hugged Sirius, as the church clock across the street chimed in Christmas Day.


End file.
